Battle of Two Loves
by Migoto Bokkaku
Summary: Major AU. Yuki Eiri is a talented novelist, a devoted father, and a drug addict. Shindou Shuichi is a funloving elementary teacher who finds himself watching over a very odd young boy.
1. prologue

Disclaimer: Gravitation is not owned by either half of Migoto Bokkaku.

Prologue

I can't stop.

It's not that I don't want to, I do. I've tried, if I could I would have stopped a long time ago, but I just can't. The demon that it is won't let me. It's scary when it first enters my system, devouring everything in its path, but that's ok, because eventually it devours my pain like so much paper under a flame. It eats it away until I feel that cool relief. Sometimes I just go straight to sleep after I do it, sometimes I stay up. Whatever I do, it doesn't matter, everything feels good. With my demon there is no pain and no happiness.

When I come down from my high though, it's a different story. Sometimes I'll hurt people and have no recollection of it. Things will break or go missing in my house. My son will have locked himself in the bathroom. That's why I know I should stop, but what would I do without it?

I would die. Because the demon devours my pain.

The demon devours me.

A/N: Please review, this is just the prologue. The first chappie should be out soon, and in it some things should be explained, like who's PoV this is in (even though most of you have probably already guessed). The rest of the story will be, for the most part, in third person, it was just the prologue that was in first. This and the next chapter were written by Bloody Dead Rose, the second chapter will be written by Eiri4ever, and we'll, for the most part, be alternating after that. We'll always say at the bottom who wrote the current chapter, so that way if you have questions you know who to e-mail, even though wither of us could probably answer your question. Tell us what you think of the story!


	2. Heroin Hell

Disclaimer: We do not own Gravitation.

Chapter 1

Heroin Hell

"Daddy daddy daddy!" Exclaimed a small blonde-haired boy as he yanked his sleeping father's arm. "It's time to get up!" The boy attempted to pull the man out of bed, but accomplished only a hard thud as he fell on his rear end. The boy set his brown eyes dangerously on his sleepingchichi as he silently declared war.

Yuki Eiri awoke to a high-pitched whistle not two feet from his sensitive ears. He jumped to get away from the noise and tumbled out of bed.

"What the hell Aiden!" He cried, staring at the small boy clutching a blow whistle and wearing a mischievous grin.

"It's almost time for school," Aiden replied simply before hurrying out of the room to get dressed.

Eiri half-smiled before pulling himself to his feet and stretching. With the loud child gone he might be able to get some work done. But, then again, sometimes when Aiden was gone the house's silence seemed almost… eerie…

Eiri had just finished pulling on his fresh clothes when Aiden came bounding back into the room and clasped himself to Eiri's leg like a parasite.

"Hey big guy," Eiri said, glancing down. "Are you almost ready?"

"Yep, I ate breakfast and everything," replied Aiden, waving an empty box of pocky in front of his dad.

Eiri cringed. "That is NOT breakfast."

"Sure it is!" Argued Aiden, tossing the box in the trash. "And it was good."

Yuki walked over and snatched a banana off the counter. "Eat this on the ride, it's good for you."

Aiden took the banana and glared at it beforegrabbingup his backpack and heading towards the door. "Come on dad I don't want to be late on the first day!"

Eiri followed his son out to the black Mercedes and helped him into the backseat, buckling his seatbelt tightly before climbing into the driver's seat.

"What are you going to do all day without me to take care of you?" Aiden asked as they headed towards the school.

"Hopefully get some work done, and maybe get some much needed rest," replied Eiri, smiling at his son in the rearview mirror.

They pulled up in front of Tohoku Elementary School. Aiden unhooked himself, grabbed his backpack, and hopped out of the car.

"Are you going to be alright?" Eiri asked through the rolled down window. "Do you want me to walk you to class?"

Aiden turned to his father and let out an exasperated sigh. "Dad I'm nine, not seven," he stated simply.

Eiri smiled at him and nodded before changing gears and driving home.

Aiden watched him go with a sad look. He knew about all of his father's girlfriends, he wasn't stupid. But sometimes his father just seemed so lonely…

Shindou Shuichi couldn't be happier. He was doing something he loved and believed in, and it was the start of a brand new year. Things couldn't be better. So what if all these growing minds came with bickering parents who think that you graded their kid unfairly? So what if the headmaster follows you around like a hawk because you use to play in a band? No harm no foul, and they certainly weren't harming him.

"Hello Shindou-sensei," greeted a small dark-haired girl.

"Hello Saara," replied Shuichi, right before the slouching form of a small boy caught his eyes. "Hey kiddo why the long face?" Shuichi asked.

The boy looked up with beautiful hazel eyes that quickly narrowed. "Why are your eyes purple?" He asked critically.

Shuichi laughed. "I was born that way. You should have seen me when I was a teenager, my hair was pink!"

"That's weird," replied Aiden, ever honest.

Shuichi laughed again. "You're on my list kid. So why did you look so down?"

Aiden shrugged. "Sometimes people just feel down."

"That doesn't make it a good thing."

"But it might not necessarily be a bad thing either, right dono? It's really in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?" Aiden's face remained emotionless. "Like whether the glass is half full or half empty."

Shuichi was taken a little aback. He'd never met a kid this mature, or intelligent, especially not at this age.

"What's your name?" Shuichi asked.

"Uesugi Aiden," replied the boy. "And yours?"

"Shindou Shuichi," Shuichi answered.

"Well Shindou-sensei, thank you for your concern but I'm going to class now," without another word the boy turned on his heel and entered Shuichi's classroom.

Shuichi scratched his head. This was going to be an interesting year.

Eiri sighed, irritated. He was having writer's block and his arms were starting to itch. He needed it. He needed it bad.

He stumbled into his bedroom, quickly fumbling with a wood box underneath the bed. He lifted the lid off the box and stared at the treasure inside. His needles and heroin.

He expertly slid a needle into a vein near his other scars and pushed the liquid relief into his body before lying down on his back and tossing the needle into a nearby wastebasket There were just some things that couldn't be replaced.

The school bell rang and Aiden happily ran outside were he knew his father would be waiting for him. His steps slowed when he got closer to Eiri.

The man's eyes were red and he shook slightly. Aiden knew what this was. He didn't know what was in the needles, but he did know that this was what Eiri looked like every time he used one. This was what the Eiri who wasn't his father looked like.

"Hey dad," Aiden said cautiously. Eiri just grunted and snubbed out his cigarette.

"Get in the car," he said fiercely. "I have things to do."

Aiden nodded, too afraid of upsetting his father to speak. He climbed into the backseat and buckled his seatbelt. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shindou-sensei waving to him vigorously. He smiled and waved back.

"Who's that?" Eiri asked icily.

"My teacher, Shindou-sensei," replied Aiden softly. "He's a pretty nice guy."

"He looks weird to me," mumbled Eiri, staring at the elementary teacher. He then shifted into drive and they shot out of the parking lot.

Aiden scrunched his eyes shot. If he couldn't see out the window then he couldn't see all the cars that they nearly hit. And if he doesn't see those, then he can convince himself that he's perfectly safe.

"Dad," Aiden started as his father narrowly avoided getting sideswiped by another car. "Can you slow down a bit?"

Eiri glanced at the kid angrily for a moment. "Shut it alright?" He said, then dropped the speed down about 5 miles. "There, happy?" He demanded.

Aiden didn't reply, he just wanted to get home and out of this car. What should have been a 20 minute drive turned into 5.

When they did arrive home Aiden jumped out of the car, grabbed his backpack, and ran inside the house. Eiri watched him go before locking the car and following the boy into his house.

He slumped down on to the couch, feeling tired and overworked. As usual. The high was starting to wear off, and soon he wouldnot only feel tired and overworked, but stressed as well.

A ringing emanated throughout the house, causing Eiri to groan. He snatched up the phone.

"WHAT?" He snapped into the receiver.

"Why must you answer the phone like that?" came an equally irritated voice.

Eiri sighed audibly. "What the hell do you want Mika?"

"Can't I call just to say hello?"

"No."

Mika sighed. "I was calling to check on you. Happy? I was worried. Sakano-san was picking up Takara from Tohoku elementary when he saw your car go screaming out of the lot. Naturally he called Toma to voice his concerns. We were afraid that you had done…. Something again."

Eiri tightened his grip on the phone. Why he sent Aiden to the same school as Mika and Toma's daughter he may never know. He did NOT need this.

"How about this," Eiri started. "How about youand Toma worry about your own goddamn lives?"

"We just don't want you – or Aiden – to get hurt," replied Mika, her voice actually gentle. "We don't want the past to repeat itself."

Eiri slammed the phone down, breathing hard. _No… _he silently thought, resting his head in his hands. _Not now…_

_Flashback_

_Eiri sat on the floor, slumped over and high. No matter how much he injected, no matter how long he sat at the computer, he couldn't write anything. It was like a mass conspiracy. _Fuck the novel…_ he thought. _Fuck it to hell.

"_Fuck everything," he said, punching the wall. All he wanted now was some peace and quiet._

"_Daddy?" A voice came from the hallway. Damn._

"_Daddy?" the irritating child said again, before finding his father in the living room. He knelt down and touched his father's arm. "I had a bad dream…"_

"_What the fuck do you want me to do about it?" Eiri asked, yanking his arm away from the child. _

_Thrown off balance by the sudden loss of Eiri's arm, Aiden stumbled forward into a table, knocking off the very expensive glass lamp perched precariouslyon it. It came down on the ground hard, shattering everything but the lampshade._

_Aiden jumped away from the wreckage. "Oops," He said weakly. _

"_Oops!" repeated Eiri in disbelief. "You…" he grabbed Aiden and yanked the boy towards him. Aiden tried to pull away, but obviously wasn't strong enough. He twisted awkwardly to the side and Eiri heard a very distinctive "SNAP."_

_Eiri released the child and Aiden fell to his knees crying._

"_Dammit," Eiri said, speechless. "Aiden I… we need to take you to the doctor." Eiri swiftly picked the boy up and carried him to the car._

_end flashback_

Eiri felt hot tears run down his cheeks.

dono- mister

chichi- father

A/N: Bloody Dead Rose here! Hmmmm, I didn't mean to make Aiden quite so… mature and rude. But like father like son right? He's only that way with strangers I guess, and that's how characters grow I suppose, and I think that he's going to be a dynamic character. For those of you who are wandering about the band comment, in this story Shuichi was at one point in time in a band, but not the band we all know. It was Bad Luck with just him and Hiro, and they never got signed on to NG or anything. It's just something they did when they were younger, but that the headmaster doesn't like. Also, I've never done heroin, and I don't know much about it, so if I got the symptoms wrong or anything like that just tell me and I'll fix it. Please review. The next chappie will be written by Eiri4ever, so if it's not updated quickly enough don't hurt me, hurt her! (I still love you partner, but the threats that some reviewers use scare me!)


	3. Chapter 3

Notes- ok people, hope you like this, yes me Eiri4Ever is actually going to be serious for once and I for one am proud of this.

**Chapter 2:**

Eiri hadn't realized he was crying that night kept playing in his head over and over again. He then had a horrible feeling in his head. _Damn it another headache…_ but then the doorbell rang making it worse. "ITS OPEN!" he yelled not really wanting to move from the couch. He laid back down on it and closed his eyes.

"Aunt Mika!" Aiden yelled running out of his room and seeing his aunt at the door. "Hello Aiden!" she said giving him a big hug. "Takara's in the car, why don't you go out and talk with her?" She asked.

"Alright!" Aiden went over and gave him dad a hug and ran off... Mika smiled. "So…" She said looking over at the Author. "You seem in a good mood."

"Shut it…I don't want to hear it…" Eiri was already feeling it. The high was gone and stress was all over. He felt like everything was out of control even through all Mika was doing was talking.

"Eiri…..I just…don't want you to die…not now…you have a life, a son."

"You think I don't know that?" Eiri snapped at her. "Just shut up ok?"

"Fine Eiri….I'm Taking Aiden out so you can get some work…." Mika tried to smile but couldn't, she then walked back out to her car and drove off leaving Eiri all alone.

Eiri couldn't stand it, they itch had been there for an hour now, but he tried to ignore it, tried to be strong keeping his son in mind, but he finally gave in, to his love. He went into the bedroom and pulled out his box, he smiled. Then he went and rolled up his sleeve stopping to look at his arm. Scars were all over it, and around his veins were marked and look painful.

He didn't care, He skillfully took the needle and it was filled, he then stuck it in slowly. Once he injected himself he felt it wash over himself. He sighed. Something so wrong felt so good. He took it out and lay back on the bed. He then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, and without knowing it he curled up on his side relaxing into a deep sleep.

Eiri woke up to a tugging on his arm. "Daddy?" a timed voice said. He opened them to see his son in front of him, cheeks wet from tears. "D-Daddy?" Aiden looked scared.

Eiri fatherly instinct kicked in and sat up. "What is it?" He said worried. He got himself up and went over to his son's side. "It's…its 6:00" was all Aiden said. It took Eiri a moment to thinks. "6…6…. OH!" Eiri realized. Aiden came home from school at 2 and hadn't even eaten a snack. He was starving. "Oh Aiden…didn't Aunt Mika bring you somewhere?" He asked.

"I wanted to be with you…and have dinner with you…" After Aiden said this, Eiri felt his heartbreak. "Aiden…of on buddy, you can help me."

"Really!" Aiden jumped up and ran over to the kitchen. He stayed quite about his daddy's arm and the needle that was on the other side of the bed. He always kept quite about it, he never liked to talk about it anyway, but right now, this was his normal daddy and he loved it. He made it to the kitchen his dad right behind him.

Eiri smiled. "what you in the mood for?" he asked with a smile.

"Uh…MAC AND CHEESE!" He yelled happily.

Eiri nodded. "Sounds good to me." And with that both Eiri and Aiden made them some dinner, finally there being a happy moment in Eiri's life again.

Shuichi stood outside the school, on duty to make sure everyone gets inside, and then he saw something he wished he could look at forever. A Tall Blonde man came out of a sleek black sports car with a smile. His eyes were soft and golden and his face smooth and pale. "A-Aiden!" he said when he noticed a happy looking Aiden hop out of the car holding his dad's hand. "…..wow…."

Aiden saw Shuichi. "Shindou-Sensei!" He said and ran over pulling his dad with him. "Meet my dad!" He said proudly.

Shuichi smiled and looked him over again. He stood tall and proud, with a gentle father type smile, He wore a simple whit T-shirt, with a black sweater and black slacks (more like a jogging outfit), all in all, He looked like a normal father. "Hello! I'm Shuichi Shindou, Aiden's teacher, you must be his dad!" He said happily.

"Yes, I'm his Father…Eiri Yuki." He knew the reaction he was going to get form his name.

_OH MY GOD ITS EIRI YUKI! _Shuichi wanted to explode but stayed calm. "Pleasure to meet you!" He smiled once more. Eiri just made him fell….special…and warm. "Well we better go! Come on Aiden!" and with that Shuichi walked in with Aiden close behind.

Eiri smiled. "Nice guy…" He then went back over to his car and took a deep breath. He had gone all night and this morning with nothing. He could feel his whole arm itch this time and a pounding headache and a throbbing pain in his arm where he injected himself. He rushed home as fast as he could.

As Eiri walked into his home he realized something…."Why….why can't I stop?" He knew he should just avoid the bedroom all together, but….he went in and lay on his bed. "No…no I can do this…" he whispered. But…it was like the needles were calling him. on…you know you wan it...' they said in a hiss. It was an icy voice and seems to be enchanting. 'Come on Eiri…..' he gave in. He went over and got everything set up, this time putting a little more in the needle then he should, and injected it.

He knew he put a lot in, but it felt so much better. He soon passed out on the bed again curling up and tears falling down his smooth pale face.

**Note-**……well……….why do you think? Mature enough for you?


	4. Battle of Wills

Chapter 3

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Eiri's eyes flickered slightly every time a raindrop fell on his bedroom window.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Boom._

He finally sat up, thanking the storm and whatever deity had sent it. It had saved him from a nightmare that he couldn't quite escape, but couldn't remember now. He tossed his legs over the side of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. His too long blonde hair fell past his cheeks, covering his face from his chin up.

_Flash. Boom. Thump. Thump. Creak._

Creak? Eiri lifted his head in confusion, but then understood when his eyes fell on his now partially opened door.

"Daddy?" came a shaky, questioning voice.

"Come on Aiden," said Eiri, patting the spot on the bed next to him.

Aiden scurried into the room like a puppy promised a bone. He jumped up onto the bed and curled neatly into his father's side. Eiri, his paternal instincts kicking in, wrapped an arm around his son.

"The storm can't hurt you," he assured.

Aiden considered this for a moment. "But that doesn't make it any less scary. It's like the boogey monster, I know he's not real, but I still have you check underneath my bed before I go to sleep every night. Someday I'll grow up and not be scared of anything, like you daddy."

Eiri shivered slightly. Yuki Kitazawa's face flashed in his mind. Now he remembered the nightmare. Not scared, huh?

He pulled Aiden closer to him. "There's no shame in being afraid," he said, though he wasn't sure if he himself truly agreed.

"Really?" questioned Aiden.

"Really," Eiri lied. "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it."

Aiden smiled, satisfied with this answer.

_Boom. _

He flinched. "Hey dad, can I overcome my fears of the storm tomorrow and sleep with you tonight?"

Eiri raised an eyebrow. "It's not supposed to storm tomorrow."

"Exactly," replied Aiden with a smile.

Eiri returned the smile and placed Aiden underneath the covers of his bed and curled up next to him. The boy fell asleep. Eiri didn't.

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"Please mommy, PLEASE?" Takara whined as she yanked on Mika's jacket sleeve. "Please, please!"

"No!" Replied Mika for the 50th time, this time a little more forceful. "You cannot go to school with Aiden, he goes to an all _boys_ school, and you're two years older then him! If you ask me again I'm going to leave you here with Uncle Eiri!"

Takara shut her mouth quickly.

Eiri rolled his eyes as he zipped up Aiden's coat and helped the boy into the straps of his backpack. "I always said that you should never have become a mother Mika."

Mika glared at her brother, placing a hand on her trim waist that many mothers would kill for. "You're one to talk. I don't even get a thank you for coming to take Aiden to school!"

"That's because I didn't _ask_ you," replied Eiri. "You just showed up."

"Excuse me for wanting to do something nice."

"You're excused, just don't let it happen again."

She huffed as she grabbed Aiden and Takara's hands and nudged them out the door. "Just so you know Eiri, I will be coming back in a couple of hours to have lunch with you, as your thank you to me for being such a kind, loving sister." She slammed the door shut behind her.

Eiri smirked at the spot where she had been. "I just won't be here in a couple of hours then."

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Aiden tried to focus on his shodo(1), he really did, but he just didn't see the point. He would never _use_ it, not really. His dad was a famous novelist, and _he_ never used it.

The young child dipped his brush in and out of the ink bottle absentmindedly. _Boring boring boring._

Shuichi sighed when he walked up behind Aiden and viewed his blank paper. "Having trouble, Uesugi-san?"

"No," replied Aiden without even glancing up. "Arigatou nanishiro."

Shuichi stared at the boy's blonde head, slightly taken aback. _Where does all this arrogance come from? _He wondered in bemusement. "Then why is your paper blank?"

"Because I've chosen to not yet write anything," replied Aiden nonchalantly.

Shuichi knew that he should punish him, or at least scold him, but he just couldn't bring himself to. There was just something so…. Intriguing about this young boy.

"Does your father know that you often refuse to do schoolwork?" Shuichi asked, attempting to sound stern, but fearing that he failed.

"I'm not _refusing_ to do anything, Shindou-sensei," replied Aiden. "I simply have not done it. Yet. That doesn't mean that I won't."

"Well why haven't you done it yet?"

"Because I haven't."

"You avoided my question earlier."

"Which was?"

"Does your father know how you act in school?"

"I don't know," said Aiden, looking at Shuichi coolly for the first time. "Why don't you call him and find out?"

It was a challenge, Shuichi knew it was, and he also knew that he shouldn't allow the boy's smartass remarks anymore then his blatant disregard of his schoolwork, but still… the kid was just so interesting.

"Maybe I will," he replied, straightening himself.

"Maybe you should," answered Aiden, once again turning his head to his inkbottle.

Shuichi turned around and went to inspect the other students' progress, but he continued to watch Aiden with interest out of the corner of his eye.

When the bell rang Aiden turned his assignment in with everyone else.

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Eiri unlocked the front door and shut it quickly. He had gone to the park with his laptop and written there all day in an attempt to avoid Mika, and so far it had worked, but she'll be bringing Aiden home from school in a little while and he should at least be home for that. He glanced at his watch. _Any minute now…_

He was so enthralled in his thoughts that he actually jumped when the phone rang. Eiri Uesugi does not jump, especially not at the phone. Slightly annoyed he snatched it up.

"Hello?" He demanded.

There was a pause, then a slightly confused sounding male voice responded with, "Uesugi-sama?"

"Yes," replied Eiri, still harsh.

"This is Shindou Shuichi, your son's teacher," the voice said cautiously.

Eiri tried to push politeness and patience into his tone, but it just came out strained. "Is there a problem?"

"A slight one, yes," replied Shuichi. "I just have some questions. Your son is rather… difficult."

Eiri smirked. He heard this same thing from Aiden's daycare teacher last year and the year before that. "And?" Asked Eiri.

"And I was kind of wondering why."

_Well that's new_, thought Eiri, a little surprised. All the other teachers pretty much asked him to "fix it," then hung up.

"Why is anyone like anything?" said Eiri, smirking at the confused expression that was probably on the obvious spacey teacher's face right now.

"Huh?" replied Shuichi. Eiri would have chuckled. That is, if Eiri Uesugi chuckled. Which he didn't, just like he didn't jump.

"The kid's cocky," clarified Eiri. "He'll grow out of it. Bye." With that he hung up just as the front door opened and Aiden, Takara, and Mika entered the apartment.

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Shuichi started at his now beeping phone like it had bit him.

_That, arrogant son of a…_ Shuichi shoved the phone into it's cradle fuming. _Well, at least now I know why Aiden's so goddamn egotistical. Like father, like son._ _Well, I'll show him. I can be just as irritating._

With a quick look at his student register Shindou Shuichi pulled on his coat and was out the door.

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"I'm just saying avoiding your only sister is rude!" snapped Mika. "I just wanted to talk."

"No you didn't," said Eiri, taking a huff of his cigarette. "You just wanted to fight."

Mika was about to say more, but was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. "Are you expecting someone?"

"No," replied Eiri just as Aiden was yelling, "I'll get it!"

Eiri took another breath of his cigarette, but choked on the smoke when he heard Aiden's exclamation.

"Shindou-sensei!"

Mika stared at the doorway incredulous. "Isn't that your son's teacher?"

"Yes," replied Eiri, rubbing his temples and getting to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Aiden in a happy tone. "Nevermind, it doesn't matter, wanna see my room?" He grabbed his sensei by the hand and dragged him into the house.

"Wait a second!" Eiri demanded of their retreating backs.

"I get him first!" said Aiden. "Then you can talk to him."

Eiri stared as Aiden dragged Shuichi throughout the apartment, showing him everything.

What the hell is up with this guy…

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1. Shodo involves dipping a brush in ink and using it to write kanji (characters that are used in several East Asian countries and have their own meanings) and kana (phonetic characters derived from kanji) in an artistic style. It's often taught to elementary school children.

Arigatou nanishiro – Thank you anyway.

A/N: Hey, BloodyDeadRose here, what's up guys? I hope you enjoyed the new chapters. Oh and just so you guys know I have no idea if they use daycares in Japan, and I couldn't find anything about it so we're just going to pretend like they do, K?

A/N: Let me know what you think of Aiden, Eiri4ever and I love him, but we're kind of dorks so you know ;p. And in case you don't understand why Aiden seems like he has two different personalities its just that he puts on a kind of mask when he's at school, but he opens up more at home.

A/N: I don't speak Japanese fluently, I'm still learning, so let me know if I've made a mistake with it somewhere or anything.

A/N: Sorry there wasn't much heroin reference in here, I didn't find a place for it. We'll probably get back on that with the next chappie. Also, if you have any suggestions let me know in the review or e-mail Eiri4ever or me. Thanks for reading, please review!


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